The Patriots had a lot on their plate heading into Sunday's season finale game against the Bills. The future of Jerod Mayo was at stake, and their first-round draft pick positioning was at the forefront of the conversation. Both were considered important in their own ways, as whatever happened could dictate the direction of the team.
There was a fair argument to be made that their best decision would be to tank the game and reap the ultimate reward of the first overall pick, but the Patriots were far from the team we've seen all season that looked inept in every way possible.
It didn't appear that way at the very beginning, however, with Drake Maye in at quarterback and the offense going three and out after a sack by Von Miller (which earned him a $1.5 million incentive) on third down. But rookie Joe Milton III replaced him on the next drive and the offense woke up with him, quickly marching down the field to score the first points of the game.
That continued the rest of the day, which was impressive to see considering the limited reps Milton has played, and although it was hard not to be happy for him, his performance ripped the No. 1 overall pick from the Patriots hands.
Instead, they will now go into the 2025 NFL draft with the fourth overall pick.
Joe Milton's game-winning performance came at the wrong time for the Patriots
While adding the fourth win to the season is great for morale and potentially for Mayo's future as the Patriots head coach, it's a massive blow to the team's draft hopes. The number one pick might not be necessary for a quarterback, but given the amount of holes on the roster that need to addressed, it would have solved a lot of their biggest problems ahead of the 2025 season.
They would have had the luxury of taking the best non-quarterback prospect of the class, which has remained Colorado's CB/WR Travis Hunter. He would impressively address two of the weakest positions on the team, as he plays on both sides of the ball.
But they would have also had the option of reaping the reward of a trade down with a quarterback-needy team willing to give up the farm to secure the player they want most. That would add a ton of draft capital this year and next and a team could also throw in a starting caliber player to sweeten the deal, all of which the Patriots would not be able to reject.
Now that won't even be a possibility, as the win slides them down to the fourth pick and their options will be far more limited.